Medicine
by ce sont les petits choses
Summary: She had a warm heart, a beautiful brain, but it's disintegrating, from all the medicine. Rose was never the same after that day, and Scorpius would do anything to start all over again.


Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling. I wouldn't be sitting at my desk writing Harry Potter fanfiction if I did own Harry Potter.

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Medicine

_You could still be what you want to be when I first met you, when you first met me._

_Medicine by Daughter  
_

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"Please, please don't give up." he whispered. "Please don't leave me behind; I'll miss you so much. I don't think I've told you this enough but I love you I love you I love you to pieces."  
"Silly Scorpion, you can't love someone to pieces, that's horrible! I don't want to be in bits!"  
"It's just a figure of speech Rosie," Scorpius chuckled. He didn't bother correcting her this time; his name was Scorpion in her mind. She had a beautiful mind and such a warm soul but it's disintegrating now, and very quickly too. He blamed the medicine the healers gave her. She's only 18 years old, and already she's accomplished so much in her lifetime. She could accomplish more if she hadn't been diagnosed with end stage cancer just a few short months ago.

_"Scorp let me down!" Rose giggled from over Scorpius' shoulder.  
"Never," he yelled back, elongating the last consonant, as he knew it bothered her to no end. "Not until you tell me you love me!"  
"Never!" she mocked.  
"What, you don't love me anymore? I'm hurt Rosie!"  
"Well, maybe I like you a little bit. Enough to tolerate you." her only reply was him spinning her around until they both fell from dizziness and laughing too much.  
"What about now?"  
"I think," she said, "that I love you more and more each second I spend with you." Her voice now just above a whisper as they got closer and closer. Their smiles were identical as they stared into each other's eyes the way elderly couples who've gone through hell and high waters together do. No words needed, just their steady heartbeats and the cool summer breeze.  
"Rosie!" a voice called from a distance. "Rose!" it was her mother, sounding quite serious. The couple scrambled to help each other up and raced each other back to the house (Rose won, but Scorpius swears left right and centre that he let her win. Rose knew that wasn't true).  
"What is it mum?" Rose called, carelessly taking off her sneakers and tossing them aside.  
"In the kitchen!" her father replied.  
Nothing good ever came from her mother and father being in the kitchen and needing to "talk". Usually, it was Hugo that had to endure the long lectures, but something told her that this was different. She glanced at Scorpius and with entwined fingers, they entered the kitchen together._

_That was the day her world turned upside down and out the window._

_Still in a daze, Rose walked through the doors of St. Mungo's and straight to the cancer ward. There, Healer Thomas told her exactly what was wrong and why she had felt nauseous and had dizzy spells. Scorpius never forgot the day she turned to him - of all people, not her parents or her brother, but Scorpius - with tears in her eyes and told him simply, "Whatever happens to me, promise me the medicine won't ever change me, yeah?"_  
_He didn't say anything for fear of his own voice cracking and for the fear that the tears pooling around his eyes would start falling and would never stop. He hugged her as she collapsed into him and he hugged her so tightly that he was sure she almost couldn't breathe, if it weren't for Rose hugging him back just as tightly._

He still retells the story of the old days of when Professors Binns and Peeves were their only problems and when Rose used to skip instead of walk because isn't it so much more fun? He'd done so every day that she'd been locked up in the grey hospital room and every time, he tried his hardest to hold back the tears so Rose wouldn't get sad at the sight.

One day, she told him, "Scorpion, I want to leave. I want to get away from this icky hospital grey-ness and explore the great outdoors. I don't want to take this medicine anymore, I don't even know how many fingers I have most days and I need to pee." He chuckled as a response to her use of wonderful vocabulary that she once would have reprimanded, and told her to rest awhile whilst he cleared it with the Healers and her family.  
Hours earlier, the Healers had informed them that Rose's condition had worsened yet again and would only have days to live, so her request was approved quickly. Her family members understood that the old Rose would have wanted to spend her last hours with Scorpius and allowed her to leave the hospital as well. But not before she told every single family member present that she loved them dearly and could she just pee already?

Scorpius took her arm and apparated them both to a small clearing they both frequently visited near the Lake on Hogwarts grounds while they were both studying there - though they had only ever bumped into each other there during fifth year after an argument about Prefect duties and both declared that they needed time and space to cool down.

"Hey Rosie, remember that time we found each other here?"  
"Of course I do, Scorpius." replied her voice, muffled by Scorpius' shirt.  
"You remember my name?" he asked, incredulously.  
"Of course I do, silly! I could never forget you, Scorpion." he sighed; it was only a small lapse of memory.  
They fell into a comfortable silence of Rose listening to Scorpius' steady heartbeat and him gently running his hands through her unruly hair. (She had opted out of chemotherapy because "who would want to prolong the inevitable?")  
"Tell me the story of when we first met here, Scorpion."  
"Well, we had just had quite the argument..."

_They sat together in silence for what seemed like an eternity.  
"Rose? I'm sorry," Scorpius said quietly.  
"I'm sorry too."  
"I only yelled because that Connor kid doesn't actually love you like he said he did and only wanted to be your prefect partner so that he could snog you."  
"I only yelled back because it took so long for you to realize that I didn't want to go out with Connor, I only want to be with you." she replied."You know, you didn't have to stand up for me. I could have done so by myself."  
"I know. I wanted to."  
"Thank you."  
"When did we get so close?" indeed, they had both scooted closer and closer to each other until they were almost nose to nose, though Rose didn't know whether he was talking about how close they were physically, or how close they've become as friends (or maybe more-than-friends).  
"I don't know, but I've always wanted to try this..."  
"Try what?"  
"That."  
"Oh, that. I liked that. Let's do that again." Rose giggled softly and leaned forwards once more._

Somewhere along the lines, Rose had fallen into a serene slumber while lying on Scorpius' chest. He didn't dare look down for the fear that just one look down at the sleeping beauty cradled in his arms could affirm his haunting suspicion that maybe she had already left this earth and went on to explore other worlds. Had he looked down, he would see that she fell asleep with the smallest hint of a smile and a peaceful passing.

He lay there for what felt like hours but was really just a couple of seconds, until he decided he should carry her back to the hospital to be properly taken care of. He walked instead of apparating while holding her against his body just so he could spend more time with her. As soon as Scorpius arrived at his workplace, St. Mungo's, he went to Rose's room and placed her gently on the bed. Just then, her family streamed in quietly with tears staining their cheeks and all said their goodbyes and well wishes, for they knew that young Rose was still very much alive in their hearts.

Scorpius decided that night to travel the world and see all the wonders and cultures of this Earth that Rose hadn't had the opportunity to.

Just a few short months after his return, Intern Malfoy became the first intern to become a full Healer in less than a year. Healer Malfoy spent the rest of his career caring for other cancer patients and researching for a cure for cancer.

He succeeded.

Rosie always did say that he could be smarter than her if he tried.

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_Author's Note: This is a songfic to the song Medicine, by Daughter (if you haven't already guessed) and I highly suggest you listen to her music, it's so beautiful. I also drew inspiration from the book, "An Abundance of Katherines" by John Green, and the song, "Ronan" by Taylor Swift. I hope you enjoyed reading, this is my first fic! Please review, I need feedback! (Especially if you've favourited it)  
_

_Thank you,  
_

_Sam, Ce Sont Les Petits Choses.  
_


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